LOVES SINNERS

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

^1-3The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

I have recently been counseling several folks who are “devastated”with their sin. They feel like they have made SO MANY mistakes, taken SO MANY wrong turns, made SO MANY bad decisions that there is no hope. The enemy has taken a dump truck’s worth of GUILT and unloaded it right on top of them.

They feel trapped.

They feel overwhelmed.

They feel hopeless.

And they sense that there will never be a way for them to be “good enough, long enough” to crawl out of the hole that their sin and bad choices has left them in.

Well I have good news!

Jesus CAME for folks like these and YOU!

Romans 5:8

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Plain and simple.

GOD gave JESUS for “us sinners” not for “saints”. GOOD THING too, because there are a whole lot more on the “sinner” side of that ledger than “saints.

Romans 3:23

…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…

But I can understand how my friends are feeling. We talked a few DISPATCH’s back about the struggle to do “right” and then falling short of that; and then the hurt and unsettling feelings that follow.

I wrestle with them myself.

But I want to offer a little hope this morning; a glimmer of light that emanates from the top of that “pit”.

The Lord LOVES sinners! He hates SIN, but LOVES the sinner!

I mean it would be easy to expect and believe that a loving heavenly FATHER would care for His children when they are behaving “well” or when they are being hurt, persecuted, or misunderstood. But our LORD’S LOVE doesn’t stop there!

God comforts his kids even when they have sinned.

It is true.

That is what makes our GOD so amazing; that grace for when we have “gotten it totally wrong”.

The truth is Jesus did not come to condemn the world but to save anyone who believes in Him!

John 3:17

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

Time and time again during Jesus’ ministry when He encountered folks doing the unthinkable, (woman CAUGHT in adultery, one of His best friends betraying Him) Jesus didn’t PILE ON, HEAP GUILT or OFFER CONDEMNATION.

Instead JESUS offered forgiveness.

Mind you He never condoned the sin or the action and did not defend the actions or completely erase the consequences. But time after time JESUS provided COMPASSION and an opportunity to “flip the script”.

John 8:11

…Go and sin no more.

John 5:14

…don’t sin as you did before…

I say it a lot. GOD GET’S US.

He understands our human frailty. And even before we do wrong, He knows the poisonous harvest that we will reap from sin. He knows we will be seeking some comfort resulting from our foolishness.

I am grateful that we serve a loving and gracious God who does not abandon His children at their hour of great need.

He even offers His Spirit to wade into the mess we have made, guide us out of the pit, soothe our broken heart, and provide the grace to rebound!

Ephesians 2:5

We were spiritually dead because of all we had done against him. But he gave us new life together with Christ. (You have been saved by God’s grace.)

I hate it when I sin. We all do.

It makes us feel unworthy of His care and solace. Yet God's forgiveness is based on His great mercy rather than our conduct.

You catch that?

GOD’S FORGIVENESS IS BASED ON HIS GREAT MERCY RATHER THAN OUR CONDUCT!

Pretty remarkable huh?

So here is your “takeaway” today.

Jesus Christ sacrificed His life to save you from your sins and He will ALWAYS love, comfort and offer freedom for you even when they get the best of you.

Don't believe just me, believe the LORD.

Romans 8:38-39

…I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can’t, and life can’t. The angels won’t, and all the powers of hell itself cannot keep God’s love away. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, or where we are—high above the sky, or in the deepest ocean—nothing will ever be able to separate us from the love of God demonstrated by our Lord Jesus Christ when he died for us.

Have a blessed day and weekend!

I love you all!

Freedom Church

Pastor GDelaney